


Don’t Leave Me

by JMount74



Series: Whumptober 2020 [8]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Broken Bones, Claustrophobia, Gen, concussion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26899582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JMount74/pseuds/JMount74
Summary: Scott and Gordon growing upWee Tracy's
Series: Whumptober 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946881
Comments: 31
Kudos: 15
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	1. Where Did Everybody Go?

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1: Prompt 8: Where Did Everybody Go? Abandoned  
> 

It was dark. That was the first thought that entered his mind. He felt like he should be awake, it was the wrong time to be sleeping. But when he opened his eyes it was still dark.

He was still curled up on his side in a tight ball, but when he tried to move, he found that he couldn’t. He began to panic. Why couldn’t he move? What had happened to him? Try as hard as he could – he just couldn’t work it out. For several minutes he tried hard to straighten out, but nothing was shifting to allow movement. It was like he was surrounded by something soft but unyielding. He let out a sob. 

Where were his brothers? His Mom? Had they all abandoned him? Where had everybody gone?

The tears were flowing freely now, and it was getting stuffy in wherever he was. He knew he needed to calm down. He kicked out suddenly in temper and fright; and was surprised when his foot connected with something solid. It gave him a focus. It gave him hope. He carried on kicking as hard as he could. He remembered – he had climbed into the blanket box and hidden under the blankets. No-one would find him here. He must have dozed off in the warmth. But now, now he couldn’t get out.

Eight-year-old Scott Tracy put down his pen. He had finally finished his extra Math homework. He’d spent the last hour and a half completing first his regular homework, then the extra. He yawned and stretched before leaving his bedroom to find his Mom. Scott was hungry and hoped he could grab a couple of cookies before dinner.

Walking past John and Virgil’s room, he could hear their voices discussing Virgil’s artwork. Scott smiled to himself. Virgil was only five, but his art was already amazing, and he knew that John had been keen for Virgil to draw something about space on the wall above his bed. With only 10 months between the pair, it was a good job they were of similar temperaments since they shared a room. 

Unfortunately, the same could not be said about his youngest brother. Three-year-old Gordon was a pest and a menace. Scott loved him dearly, but the boy had no off switch and did not understand the words ‘no’, ‘I’m doing my homework’, or ‘we can play later’. Scott chuckled to himself as he jumped down the stairs, the noise bringing his Mom out if the kitchen.

Lucy rolled her eyes at her eldest’s antics. She would have hoped Scott had grown out of jumping down the stairs, trying to see how many stairs he could make in one go. He flashed her a grin that was all teeth and dimples. God, he was going to be some lady-killer when he was older. But she knew what he was after. ‘Get on with you, then,’ she said, ‘cookies and milk are on the table waiting. Just wait for your brothers, ok?’ Scott nodded happily and went into the kitchen to wait. He heard his Mom call up to his brothers, and the thunderous footsteps that were all Virgil and Gordon told Scott they were just as hungry as he was.

So when Gordon did not appear, both Lucy and Scott had identical frowns. It was unusual for Gordon to miss cookies. It had been raining steadily for a couple of days now and the squid had not been able to go swimming, but they had kept him occupied with a new-found love of hide and seek. ‘Have any of you seen Gordon this afternoon?’ Lucy asked. John and Virgil shook their heads. Scott said Gordon had popped his head in when he had just started his homework and asked to play, but Scott had said he needed to finish his homework first and would play later. Maybe Gordon had decided to play alone?

Lucy dispatched the boys to hunt out the redhead. But when they came back empty-handed twenty minutes later, she was beginning to worry. They went back and rechecked. Nothing. It was Scott’s suggestion to check the basement, the loft and the barn. Lucy had thought that at three years of age, Gordon would be too small to get to these places, but he had to be somewhere.

Scott took the attic. John and Virgil went to the basement and Lucy checked the barn.

He wouldn’t have thought that Gordon would have climbed the ladder into the loft, but he was a stubborn and determined child. It wasn’t until he had climbed fully into the loft that Scott could hear a muffled banging. Climbing over the detritus the family collected, he found a large trunk that he seemed to recall Mom storing blankets in. The clasp was down, and it was definitely where the noise was coming from.

Flicking the clasp up and lifting the heavy lid, Scott could hear his brother sobbing as he continued kicking the box. He had to move the blankets to get to Gordon, but the three-year-old was so gone in his terror that he didn’t respond at all. Scott gently took hold of Gordon’s shoulders, giving them a gentle shake, and was rewarded by a startled look and a huge wail. He climbed into the box and pulled Gordon onto his lap. It was cramped for the long-legged Scott, but his brother’s need was greater. Gordon clung to Scott, sobbing his heart out. He couldn’t talk, but the hug from his big brother was appreciated, and gradually he began to calm down. Scott didn’t say anything, he just let Gordon carry on until he was ready.

Lucy popped her head up when John and Virgil had returned but Scott had not. She couldn’t see them, but she could hear Gordon crying. Pulling herself into the loft, she made her way over to the very back. Lucy was surprised that Gordon had managed to not only climb up the ladder but then found his way into the old giant blanket box. She stayed just out of sight.

‘Better?’ Scott asked as Gordon settled down to light hiccupping. He nodded. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’ He kept his voice quiet and warm, hoping Gordon would open up. To Scott’s delight his baby brother nodded. ‘We were playing hiding, but you didn’t come, then I couldn’t move.’ A couple of fat tears rolled down Gordon’s red cheeks. Scott gently wiped them off with his sleeve. ‘I’m sorry, Gordon,’ he started, ‘I didn’t know you hadn’t heard me say that I had to finish my homework first, otherwise I would have been looking for you.’ He tightened the hug.

Lucy was impressed. She knew that Gordon wasn’t the easiest to get on with, especially when he had his mind set on something, and Scott didn’t have the greatest patience when interrupted. Yet Scott had dealt kindly with his littlest brother. He was such a good big brother.

‘Come on Squid, let’s go get our cookies,’ Scott said, placing Gordon outside the box and standing up. Gordon looked a forlorn sight, standing there waiting. Scott stood up and held out his hand, which Gordon took gratefully, and they moved to the ladder. They had to pass Lucy to reach it, and she knelt down as they stopped, and Gordon grasped her in a tight cuddle. Scott carried on, thinking that his Mom would probably want to talk to Gordy.

‘No!’ screamed Gordon when he realised Scott had moved on. ‘Don’t leave me!’ he cried out, the terror and panic plain in his voice. Scott shot back to his brother, taking him in his arms again.

‘Never, Gordon. I’ll never leave you,’ he replied, hugging him tight.


	2. I Think I've Broken Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott promised. He promised he would always be there for Gordon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 12: I Think I've Broken Something: Broken Bones

‘You promised me, Scott. You promised. You promised you’d never leave me.’ Gordon’s pleading to his big brother fell on deaf ears. Scott wasn’t responding to him, or anyone else for that matter.

And it was all his fault.

Six-year-old Gordon was not the best skier of the family. Hell, even three-year-old Alan managed to stay upright on his skis! But Gordon was determined that this year, the third year at the cabin, he was going to master it. It just wasn’t done that the youngest could do something an older brother could not!

After a week spending more time on his bottom than on his legs, Gordon was about ready to give up. Scott and Virgil were naturals, John was even elegant. Lucy had told him to keep trying, he would get there in the end. But nothing helped.

That night, halfway through their holiday, Gordon announced to the family at dinner that he was giving up. There were various protests from every member of the family, even Grandad was adamant he should continue. But it was Scott who volunteered to teach him, as long as Gordy promised to do what he said.

Gordon was a bit sceptical. At eleven, Scott had begun to get very irritated with his younger brother’s antics. Of course, that drove Gordon to more ridiculous pranks, culminating with Scott ending up with bright red hair the morning before they came on holiday. How a six-year-old had even managed that was still a mystery to his family.

Scott hadn’t spoken to Gordon for four days. His mom had told him that this was a prank too far and he would need to do some serious apologising, but that wasn’t in Gordon’s nature. He didn’t think it was in Scott’s nature to hold a grudge, but he had. Even when Scott started to speak to him again, it wasn’t as before. Gordon didn’t really understand what Scott’s problem was, the dye remover had got rid of the colour the same day.

So when Scott offered to teach him, Gordon wasn’t so quick to take up the offer. Who knew what vengeance big brother had in mind, and visions of being abandoned in the snow were playing out before him. 

Unfortunately, Lucy was not a mind reader, because she had agreed before Gordon had even blinked. At least, that is what it felt like.

It took Scott two days to teach Gordon how to stand and how to move his body on the skis. They were excruciating days for both of them. But by the end of the second day something had clicked, and Gordon was freely skiing down the biggest nursery slope. He was ready!

The third day – or tenth if he included the week before – Gordon was determined to ski the ‘normal’ slopes, the ones where John and Virgil regularly skied. Scott was trying to get Gordon to spend one more day on the nursery slopes so that he could learn safety better, but Gordon was having none of that now he could stay upright on his skis!

It was after lunch that it all went wrong. 

Gordon had had such a great day, and by now he was actively ignoring Scott’s advice. He knew what he was doing, and he had convinced himself that Scott was just a buzzkill. Gordon was great!

He didn’t notice he was straying into the expert slopes, even though Scott was yelling at him. Scott was charging over, he knew how fast the skiers were on this slope, and Gordon was nowhere near good enough to just get out of their way, let alone ski there.

But he was going to be too late. Scott could see the whole scene. The skier in the blue was coming straight for Gordon and his brother had not seen them. Putting everything he had into getting there to protect Gordon, Scott shot off on an intercept course. He had less distance to cover than the blue skier, but they were faster and would probably reach Gordon first, so his aim was to intercept them, not get to Gordon.

Barrelling into the skier was one of the most painful things Scott had done up till then. The momentum still carried both of them into Gordon, but at least he wouldn’t be seriously injured. Scott had a vague idea that he could hear John and Virgil shouting, but everything was blurry.

By the time Grant, Jeff, John and Virgil had made it to Scott and Gordon, the other skier had climbed out of the tangle of limbs, absolute fury emanating from them. They were limping but nothing worse. Gordon was still on the snow, but he seemed only shocked.

Scott was out of it. Unconscious, an obviously broken leg and possibly a broken arm. Gordon was mortified. This was all his fault, he had refused to listen to Scott, and now Scott was badly injured.

Jeff swopped details with the skier, who had threatened legal action if their holiday was cut short by his son’s actions. By this time the medics were also on the scene and had stabilised Scott on a stretcher. They confirmed a broken leg and arm.

It was a sorry bunch that trekked back to the cabin. Grant had taken them back while Jeff went to the hospital with Scott. Once back, they piled into the two cars and drove off to the hospital. They did not wait for long, Jeff’s excellent healthcare package meaning that Scott was seen very quickly. He needed a minor operation to set the break properly and to apply the regenerator so it would heal quicker. Scott would be out for the rest of the day and probably the night too. 

It was sitting at Scott’s bedside that he uttered the plea for Scott. Virgil clipped him round his head, then pulled him in for a one-armed hug. Glancing fondly at the others, Virgil grinned at his immediately younger brother.

‘Scott’s only sleep, you overdramatic idiot. He’s not dying.’

Gordon had the good grace to look embarrassed.


	3. If You Thought Head Trauma Was Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon's first national swim meet does not go swimmingly. Big brother is there for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whumptober Prompt 26: If You Thought Head Trauma Was Bad: Concussion.

Gordon’s prowess in the pool was fast becoming legendary at school. Of course, his brothers already knew this, but it was a source of immense pride for the whole family when Gordon qualified for his first national swim meet.

He had been swimming since, well, since forever. The water baby of the family, often called Squid with fondness, had hated school with a passion ever since he had started. The one bright spot was his Swim Club. His mom had signed him up for it before anything else, and it was literally the only reason he went to school. Ok, not literally, he understood that school was not optional, but his dad had sat him down after his first year’s report and explained a very basic principle: don’t do well at school – no swimming.

Gordon could learn if he had to. By the time he was eight he was top of the club, beating all the nine- and ten-year-olds hands down. The coach was delighted in him, he’d never seen such a turn of speed in such a small body. And, much to Gordon’s evident disgust, he was still very much the short one of the family. Alan, at five, was already almost as tall as he was.

He might have had to be good and learn lessons, but he was not a boring child, as many of his teachers lamented. His repertoire of pranks pulled on staff and students alike was vast and, to Gordon at least, hilarious. No-one called him the class clown, it felt too mean to call the sunny child that, but more than once Gordon had been given detention due to the excessive results of his endeavours. They usually consisted of itching powder, glitter bombs and water.

The coach had learnt the hard way – keep Gordon Tracy occupied and/or tired out or risk being the subject of a prank, although he got off lightly compared with most teachers. Gordon’s English teacher swore he was still finding glitter in his hair. But he was mostly lenient with the other students in the swim club.

His first swim meet was just a friendly competition with a neighbouring school, but to Gordon it was the most awesomest (his words) thing he had ever done. His favourite stroke was breaststroke, and his entire family were here watching. Gordon had never been so excited in his short life (except for possibly when they had had the pool installed).

It was a foregone conclusion that he would win his heats. But as he stood up for the first one, a fission of fear coursed its’ way through him. He was only eight, and the group had 9 other swimmers. For the first time in his life Gordon felt nervous.

Scott, nearly 13 was in the stands with the rest of the family. He had cheered loudly when Gordon’s first race had been announced, but he couldn’t help but notice how tense his little brother was. When Gordon inevitably looked for familiar faces in the small crowd, Scott actually stood up on the bench, waving enthusiastically so he was easy to spot. A thumbs-up and a mouthed ‘you got this,’ and Gordon was ready to go.

He blew the competition out of the water.

Now nationals loomed, and Gordon was more nervous than anything. And a nervous Gordon was a pranking Gordon. He’d got both John and Virgil that morning alone; and had brought with him a couple of glitter bombs as ‘gifts’ for the opposition. It was going to be a two-day meet with the amount of schools involved.

Jeff and Lucy had tried to get Gordon to tone his hyper-activeness down, but he was way too excited. John and Virgil were not talking to him, so it had been left up to Scott to try to keep the live wire out of trouble. Like Scott stood a chance!

Now that Gordon had attended several local meets, his nerves seldom got the better of him and just added to the general feeling of excitement. His eight-year-old self had been entered into the under-10’s category, one he knew he could successfully compete in.

The first day went without a hitch, Gordon winning every race he had entered. The competition had been fierce and close though, and he had fought hard for his wins. It made him appreciate that actually, he could do better.

That evening the hotel that was hosting them laid on a lovely buffet and all the competitors and their families were invited. There was some good-natured joshing about who was best and who had won the most, but most competitors were just happy to be there.

Except three of the 10-year-olds from one of the local rival schools. They were rotten and said some really nasty things about the other competitors. When they started snarking on Gordon though, he had four brothers who looked out for him. It came as no surprise to the family, and to everyone else’s total surprise, when it was little Alan who called them out on their behaviour, and, even though the five-year-old stumbled on the words, their un-sportsman-like attitude. The room had gone silent and heard every word, and the three boys were very embarrassed.

Unfortunately for Gordon, that embarrassment led to issues in the pool the next day. They were very sneaky about it, but he lost his towel, his cap and his footing several times before he decided enough was enough. 

Of course, Gordon should have gone to see his coach. But things, in his mind anyway, were cut and dry. He needed them off his back and the quickest way was…hmm…glitter bomb. He didn’t want them to forfeit, which they might have to with itching power, but the glitter just washed off so it wouldn’t affect their swimming. Gordon was proud of his reasonings. He knew that Scott had been given permission to come back and collect him for lunch, so Gordon needed to act fast. And he did.

Lunch was a light meal and the swimming started up again an hour and a half later, giving time for anything consumed to be sufficiently digested not to cause issues. Most swimmers stuck to protein drinks. Scott walked an animated Gordon back to his changing room, mildly amused that the fish still had so much energy despite the competition.

Entering the changing room, they both became aware of a commotion. Curiosity piqued, they headed in the direction of the laughter, only to be met with three boys covered in gold, silver and pink glitter. The area around them was likewise covered. The boys’ coach was chivvying them up to get showered, and even he was struggling to suppress a smile. Scott turned to Gordon and asked him silently, one raised eyebrow. Gordon answered just as silently with one slight shoulder shrug and a quirk of his lips. Scott rolled his eyes. He had hoped that Gordon wouldn’t be, well, Gordon, but he had witnessed the behaviour this morning and had known Gordon simply would not resist.

Gordon’s coach had strict words for the whole group, even though they all knew it was Gordon didn’t mean the three victims did, and he wasn’t going to cause more trouble, he had seen how they had been treating Gordon and he had hoped Gordon would come and talk to him officially. Both he and Scott recognised that the prank had actually been quite subdued by Gordon standards, but the coach was pretty sure the victims wouldn’t see it that way, especially if the daggers being thrown at Gordon were anything to go by.

As usual for Gordon, once the prank had been played the issue, as far as he was concerned, was settled. The coach had said that Scott could stay until they were called for his next race. He still wasn’t a hundred percent sure that the three would leave Gordon alone and was pleased to allow Scott to stay, even if technically it was against the rules. 

He was really pleased he let Scott stay.

The three boys came out of the shower and made a beeline for Gordon. They seemed sure it was all his fault. Gordon was so relieved Scott was still here when his brother stood in front of him between them. The confrontation was brief, but none of the boys were willing to take on Scott. He was tall than they were as well as older, and they were not going to do anything while he was there.

The runner came to get everyone. Scott put an encouraging arm around Gordon’s shoulders and turned to leave. He only just caught what happened through the corner of his eye. As soon as Gordon had move clear from Scott, the tallest of the three ten-year-old’s shoved him with all his might. Gordon fell back suddenly, totally unprepared for the attack. As Gordon’s teammates started pushing back and keeping them all separated, Scott rushed over to his brother.

Gordon was lying on the floor, eyes closed and definitely unconscious. Putting his first aid skills learnt at Rescue Scouts to practice, Scott checked airways – fine, breathing – fine, circulation – fine. He heaved a sigh of relief, but then frowned. A trickle of blood was appearing from under Gordon’s head, and as Scott looked up he could work out that Gordon had hit his head on the corner of the bench on the way down. Gently manoeuvring his brother into the recovery position, he took off his t-shirt and used it to stem the blood from the back of Gordon’s head.

By this time Coach, an official and a first aider had been brought over by the runner. Scott asked if the runner could fetch his dad, which the coach readily agreed to, and the first aider radioed the paramedics. The onsite ambulance crew arrived just before Jeff did, and they immediately set about securing Gordon to the stretcher.

While all this was going on the race Gordon should have been participating in was cancelled and officials were discussing whether to call of the rest of the meet. There were six races left, and families in the stands were getting restless. Watching one of the runners fetch Jeff caused murmurs among the others, especially when that was accompanied by the youngest child in the group bursting into tears. By the time Gordon was in the ambulance, the meet had been cancelled and the police had arrived. They held everyone back while the ambulance left, then allowed everyone to go home except for the families of the boys involved.

Jeff and Scott had both managed to wheedle their way on board of the ambulance, to the slight amusement of the paramedic. Scott knew how to use his big blue eyes and cheeky dimpled grin to good effect, and there was no way they would refuse the father. Jeff had managed to call Lucy and explain what had happened and where they were going, and Lucy promised to meet them there. Jeff was pretty sure the police would want to speak to both his sons too.

By the time Lucy and the rest of the boys arrived Gordon had been scanned, stitched and bandaged, and had woken up. The first person he had seen was Scott, as Jeff was talking to the doctor, and Scott had given him a huge grin, welcoming him back. Gordon was a bit fuzzy on the details of what had happened, but the doctors were happy that this was normal. They ran their neurological tests and decided Gordon was normal. This caused Scott to snigger and say Gordon had never been normal in all his eight years, so some impact must have occurred, and he was promptly cuffed by Jeff, causing Gordon to laugh out loud, then hold his head.

He had quite the headache, and the nice doctor explained that he would possibly have it for a few days. They discussed keeping him in for the week that his stitches needed to stay in, especially when Lucy turned up with three more brothers, but Jeff and the family doctor, who he’d contacted after talking to the hospital doctor, had argued for Gordon to come home. Eight years old and on his own in a strange hospital was no way for a child to get better, and besides, his brothers would be more of a help than a problem. They compromised and kept him in overnight, Lucy and Scott staying with him and the rest of the family going to a hotel nearby.

The next week was hell for the hyperactive Gordon. He soon felt well enough to be moving about, but when he did he felt extremely nauseous. His headache lasted another three days and by the time he had been home four days he was seriously bored as well as sick. All of his brothers spent some time with him, trying to keep him occupied, but Gordon couldn’t settle to anything and was becoming morose, missing his swimming and just being able to move about without pain.

On the first day back Scott had moved his mattress into Gordon’s room so that he was on hand if his little brother needed anything. Gordon never said anything about this, and neither of their parents were particularly surprised. Except when he was at school, Scott didn’t leave Gordon’s side. None of their other brothers commented either – they knew Scott would do the same for them.

The weekend was a quiet one, Gordon’s headache had finally disappeared completely, and he only felt sick if he moved too suddenly. He was still banned from the pool until the stitches came out on Monday, so he was still a little grumpy. 

Scott wasn’t allowed to stay off school to go with Gordon to have his stitches out, although he tried really hard to argue for it. Instead, he took himself off to town after school on a secret mission. He had told his mom he would be home late, and she had smiled and agreed that that would be fine, pretty sure in her own mind what her eldest would do.

When Scott came home, the first thing he did was make his way up to Gordon’s room. He was carrying a plain paper bag. Finding Gordon already tucked up in bed (he was still tiring out easily) he perched on the bed and gave Gordon a hug.

‘I’m glad the stitches are out now,’ Scott started. Passing over the bag he continued, ‘I know you still won’t be able to swim for a little while, so I thought you could put your other talent to good use.’

Opening the bag Gordon was delighted, and not a little surprised, to find a whole pile of joke stuff he could use for pranking. He swallowed and looked at Scott.

‘Thank you for being there for me.’  
‘Any time, squid, any time’

In the bottom of the bag was a multi-coloured glitter bomb.


End file.
